MTLNOVEL Chapter 121: Liar, Big Liar!
This answer didn't surprise Lin Wei because he'd already checked out this underground base and knew it wasn't a very deep complex.
Therefore, Lin Wei believed it wouldn't take long for him to find any survivors hidden here.
Even if the current controller of this base wasn't necessarily a living person – after all, whatever used a biomass neural network as a base-wide monitoring and operating system shouldn't really be categorized as "human."
But there had to be living people here. Lin Wei trusted his judgment because he knew World Serpent wouldn't do anything pointless.
Just like real snakes: lurking, hunting, eating, growing.
As cold-blooded creatures, their slow metabolism didn't allow them to waste energy on meaningless endeavors.
"If the purpose of this place is 'selection,' and those who fail are turned into Deadman , discarded like garbage... then what about those who pass?"
Lin Wei sighed.
Anna understood this too, so her initial excitement quickly faded into silence.
Finding signs of life in this bizarre base filled with Deadman was less of a pleasant surprise and more of a bitter irony.
She couldn't comprehend why anyone would do something so cruel to their own kind.
It was just like how Schicksal could send the Valkyries they nurtured into labs to be used as test subjects…
It was so similar. This subtle yet piercing coldness and malice felt exactly the same.
Anna felt like the world she was seeing was completely different from the one she'd imagined. It was too cruel and indifferent.
She thought the world she'd see would be full of kindness and hope, but reality had struck her hard, as if malice was everywhere…
"Let's go, it's over there."
Anna rubbed her cheeks, trying to shake herself up and desperately digging for fighting spirit within.
"Stay behind me, be careful of enemies!"
She wanted to find answers!
She wanted to know why they were doing this.
She wanted to know if her aspiration as a Valkyrie, to fight for humanity's salvation, still held any meaning.
Lin Wei took a deep look at Anna. He could sense the confusion and helplessness she couldn't hide, like a little girl lost in a sea of people at a crossroads, directionless, unable to find a way out, yet stubbornly refusing to ask for help.
He moved slightly closer to Anna and gently patted her shoulder.
Anna looked back at him, puzzled, and saw a warm, smiling face looking at her, saying nothing.
Before Anna could react or ask what was wrong, she was suddenly warmed by those gentle, comforting eyes. She froze for a moment, her nose stung, and she turned back to walk ahead.
She understood that look – "I'm here, don't be afraid."
"This is a battlefield, you know! If you pull pranks like that again, I'll be mad…"
Anna said stubbornly, but her mood had calmed down considerably.
"Got it."
Lin Wei smiled, not taking it to heart.
This level's layout was much more complex, like a rather high-tech lab. Two horizontal and two vertical corridors formed a "well" shape, connecting the various rooms here.
Around the "well," each room had transparent glass walls, and inside, various instruments and equipment could be clearly seen. The faint hum of machines running rose and fell, weaving a technologically advanced symphony.
The doors to each room were wide open. Anna cautiously approached, checking carefully, but there were no operators present.
The experiment tables here were spotless, and cylindrical containers lined up against the walls glowed with a green light. Tiny bubbles could be seen moving within, rising to the top and disappearing.
Anna checked the life detector and found that the life signs weren't coming from the culture devices in front of them, but from a large, sealed room in the center of the floor.
Lin Wei walked to the row of culture devices, stood on tiptoes, trying to peek through a small window to see what was inside, but Anna grabbed him back and glared at him.
"What if it's a trap?"
Seriously, was he too bold? The situation was unclear, why would he just walk right in?!
Lin Wei chuckled, dismissing his little curiosity. Then, together with Anna, they walked towards the room in the center of the "well" layout. The remaining four Armaments faithfully surrounded them.
The corridor wasn't wide, only enough for two people to walk side-by-side. So Lin Wei repeated his tactic, positioning the four Armaments in a two-front, two-back formation to protect him and Anna.
And as it turned out, this wasn't in vain.
Several small Deadman suddenly burst out from the ceiling, pouncing like leopards from both front and back. Their hands, already mutated into claws, instantly tore the Armaments in front of them to pieces and continued to attack.
"Seriously? You guys are that useless?" Lin Wei wasn't even remotely sad about his cannon fodder getting wiped out; he just thought their combat abilities were seriously questionable.
Quick-thinking Anna shoved Lin Wei into a nearby room, then quickly slammed the door shut with a "bang," protecting Lin Wei while she went all out to fight the agile Deadman .
Lin Wei was speechless. He hadn't even had time to say anything before Anna pushed him in. He had to roll a few times to avoid the blades that whistled past, aimed at his chest and throat.
This silly girl, she just happened to be near the room where the attack happened, how could she push someone in there?!
Lin Wei complained inwardly as he stood up. There were two Deadman in this small room. Having missed their first attack, they lunged at him again with blades.
Listening to the continuous gunfire and shouts outside the door, as well as the occasional dull thud of blades entering flesh, and various chaotic footsteps, Lin Wei guessed that Anna wouldn't be able to take care of him for a while.
This was definitely a premeditated trap.
Lin Wei mentally gave a thumbs-up to the unseen "enemy." This series of traps was really clever. Anyone else would have really fallen for it.
It was also his fault for acting so helpless all along, giving them a fatal misjudgment.
"Seriously, you're all like this, forcing me to act. Why bother?"
Lin Wei sighed with false pity. The hiking stick in his hand quickly shed its dull black color, revealing its true form – a slightly curved, sheathed demon blade.
A faint red light flashed behind him. Lin Wei stepped forward, his body flashing past a Deadman as he quickly drew and sheathed his blade. The Deadman fell in response, the sword in its hand snapping with a "crack" and clattering to the ground.
Back in the Elysian Realm, when he was chopping wood, it was too boring. To pass the time, he practiced this a lot.
The red light behind him faded, and Lin Wei almost passed out, cursing himself for using Yae Sakura's signature weapon. This damned demon blade had too much kickback!
Without Lin Wei's command, the black matte finish automatically covered the demon blade, turning it back into an unremarkable hiking stick.
Just as Lin Wei was about to switch weapons to deal with the remaining Deadman, Anna forcefully kicked open the door and rushed in, shouting in panic,
"Lin Wei, are you okay?!"
Anna had already dealt with the Deadman in the corridor outside. After hearing the noises from the room, she belatedly realized the stupid thing she had done. A chill ran down her spine, and she didn't dare to imagine what terrible things Lin Wei might have encountered inside. In a panic, she rushed in to support him, hoping it wasn't too late.
Thankfully, Lin Wei was still alive! This was truly great news!
Although he looked shaky and in terrible condition, this already made Anna so happy she was almost crying.
Thank goodness!
Not even bothering to look at the horribly dead Deadman on the ground, Anna rushed towards the last remaining Deadman with tears in her eyes and a fierce expression. She was going to vent all her panic, fear, and regret for making such a huge mistake on this hateful Deadman .
Thus, its death was even more gruesome…
Lin Wei behind her didn't dare to move rashly. Watching Anna frantically hacking at the already fallen Deadman with her blade like a yandere, he felt a chill run down his spine.
Who said the Schariac family was gentle?
Could it be that everyone who saw their violent side is already dead?
After the crisis was over, Lin Wei's mind started wandering to strange places again.
He especially wanted to ask Siegfried if Cecilia ever resorted to domestic violence against him back in the day.
"Waaah… you liar! Big liar!"
After venting, Anna dropped her blade and ran over somewhat unsteadily. She pulled Lin Wei up and checked him over again, then threw herself into his arms and burst into even louder sobs than before.
The moment now, was just like that moment then.
Only, last time Anna was blaming herself for her mistake; this time she was furiously cursing Lin Wei as a liar.
She wasn't blind or stupid. The mangled corpse of the Deadman on the ground already explained a lot.
But at this moment, she didn't want to dwell on what she didn't know. She just wanted to bask in this joy of "escaping death."
Wait, no, shouldn't Lin Wei be the one who escaped death?
Because ultimately, Anna still felt that it was her mistake that put Lin Wei in danger again.
Or rather, she was even a little relieved at Lin Wei's hidden abilities because it allowed him to hold on until she arrived to support him.
Otherwise, she was afraid she would truly regret it for the rest of her life!
"Yeah, yeah, yeah, I'm a big liar, the unforgivable kind…"
Lin Wei helplessly agreed with Anna's repeated "liar" accusations. Then, looking at her crying and laughing face, he comforted her with pity and a little guilt,
"Okay, okay, look, aren't I fine?"
"Waaah… you hateful liar… Tell me, how much more are you hiding from me?"
Anna felt that her question seemed a little too ambiguous, but she didn't want to care about that now. She just wanted to be willfully stubborn for once.
It was perfectly normal for a Schariac lady, who grew up in an ivory tower, to have a willful side to her personality.
"Let me think… there's a lot…"
Lin Wei knew that Anna was throwing a tantrum at him just because she didn't want their relationship to become awkward. Not wanting to go against Anna's wishes, he pretended to ponder,
"Let me think about where to start…"
"You! … Say it if you want, if you don't want to, I don't care!"
Seeing Lin Wei's shameless look, Anna became angry for a moment, glared at him, and took the initiative to change the subject,
"This isn't the place to talk, let's go!"
After saying that, she walked away from Lin Wei, hesitated for a moment, and then whispered,
"I know we haven't known each other for long, and you don't trust me… that's normal, I understand… you don't need to explain anything to me…"
Her voice was a little melancholy, with a hint of grievance.
"Anna is so beautiful, kind, responsible, and has protected me so many times at the risk of her own life. If even after all this, you still say I don't trust you, then you're underestimating me, Lin Wei!"
Lin Wei walked to the pile of mangled flesh, picked up the blade that Anna had just discarded, wiped it clean without any disgust, then walked back to Anna and placed it back in her hand, explaining very seriously.
Anna's heart fluttered slightly upon hearing this.
"Now isn't the right time. When there's a suitable opportunity in the future, if there's anything you want to know, I'll explain it to you in detail, one by one, okay?"
Lin Wei was also helpless. Anna was too enthusiastic. Just like he had just said, if he didn't respond to this, would he still be worthy of being called human?
"Then I want to know one thing first, and you must answer seriously."
Anna turned her face back, looked into Lin Wei's eyes, and pointed at the hiking stick he was still holding,
"What exactly is that thing?"
She had long felt that this staff was strange. How could a hacker's tech device hurt her? And that Deadman that was almost cut in half at the waist, weapon and all, was silent proof.
"Her?"
Lin Wei thought for a moment and said sincerely,
"She is the foundation of my life. It's with her help that I've been able to live safely until now…"
What kind of answer is that?
Anna looked at Lin Wei with dissatisfaction, feeling that he was being evasive. But his expression didn't seem fake. If she continued to press him, she would seem a little too much.
"This is a story that would take a day and night to tell, starting from the first time I escaped from the Honkai. It's not as simple as just a 'thing'."
Recalling that slap back then, and that hug, Lin Wei felt that the simple words "Twelfth Divine Key" were not enough to summarize his Pandora.
Anna looked at Lin Wei's sentimental and reminiscent expression and didn't press further, thinking that maybe he really had some unspeakable secrets.
"Let's go! We've already been delayed for too long."
This entire floor had already been explored, even trashed. Only the large room in the center, which seemed like a control center, hadn't been explored yet.
And that was the direction the life detector had been pointing to all along.
Anna held her weapon in both hands, ready for anything.